This invention relates generally to the beverage brewing arts and more particularly to an apparatus for brewing a beverage.
Some currently available beverage brewing devices provide essentially instantaneous hot water to brew beverages in a short amount of time. These devices typically have a hot water reservoir which maintains a volume of water at a predetermined temperature. A cold water fill tube is attached inside the reservoir, one end close to but not abutting the bottom of the hot water reservoir, the other end projecting into a bottom portion of a separate cold water reservoir or basin positioned above the heated reservoir. A hot water discharge tube has one end positioned in the hot water reservoir near an outlet zone generally at the top of the hot water reservoir. Another end of the discharge tube delivers hot water transported through the tube to a beverage brewing substance in order to produce a brewed beverage concentrate.
In order to brew a beverage in a beverage brewing device as described above, cold water is poured into the basin. The cold water flows through the cold water fill tube and accumulates at the bottom of the hot water reservoir due to temperature variations between the cold and hot water. The hot water is displaced by the cold water and moves upwardly towards the top of the hot water reservoir, which is sealed by a cover, and through the hot water discharge tube. Upon being dispensed into a beverage brewing substance, the hot water and beverage brewing substance create a brewed beverage concentrate.
An example of such an instantaneous hot water beverage brewing apparatus is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,385,201 to Martin for brewing coffee. Another apparatus has been suggested in order to meet the special requirements of brewing tea as is shown in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 07/360,134 to Anson et al., filed June 1, 1989. The brewing funnel of the tea brewing device is constructed in order to provide an inner concentrate brewing funnel which is generally concentric with the outer funnel. A gap formed between the two funnels permits dilution water to by-pass the brewing substance retained in the inner funnel. The cold water is mixed with the brewed concentrate upon being dispensed from a common outlet nipple formed in the bottom of the brewing funnel.
Dilution of the brewed concentrate is necessary in order to prevent the brewed concentrate from being too strong as well as preventing an additional manual step of diluting the concentrate after it has been brewed. Dilution of the brewed concentrate is achieved by feeding water from the basin to the area between the inner brewing funnel and the outer brewing funnel. In the device as shown in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 07/360,134 to Anson et al., a dilution line formed of a hollow tube extends from the bottom of the basin to the cold water by-pass portion of the brewing funnel. One end of the brewing line is connected to the bottom of the cold water basin, the other end of the line connects at an upper portion in communication with the cold water by-pass gap. Water poured into the basin simultaneously flows into the cold water fill tube as well as the dilution line.
As shown in the device of Anson et al., the dilution line is mounted directly to the bottom of the basin such that dilution water flows into the by-pass gap as soon as water is poured into the basin. Since there is no brewed concentrate to dilute until the water level in the basin rises sufficiently high to flow into the cold water fill tube and displace the hot water in the hot water reservoir, the dilution water merely flows through the by-pass gap without diluting any beverage concentrate. While the operation of this type apparatus has been generally satisfactory, in some instances there may be a deviation from optimum ratio's between the flow of brewing water and dilution water.